The Queen of the Night

Chapter 27

I smoothed out my shirt for the millionth time while my neck ached from holding the cell between my cheek and my shoulder. The solid purple shirt was already smothered into dullness, and now I could do nothing but tap my leg. Jillian drove one of the handful of cars Matthew had. Mostly for servants, or so Jillian claimed, though he'd apparently saved some of the most expensive for himself and Nexus at the time.
I sighed and switched the phone to my left ear, holding it in my hand to give my neck a break. "Then get his schedule clear for the night or tell him that I need to talk to him. I'm sure he'll want to see me. Besides, we're already on our way-"
    The woman on the other line huffed. "I'm not botherin' the master now!"
    "Tell her we're on our way," Jillian scoffed for the fifth time.
    "I've told her that four times!" I whispered.
    "Give that to me." Jillian snatched the phone from my hand with one hand and kept the other on the steering wheel. "Now what's going on?"
    I leaned back against the seat with a sigh, watching the desert landscape out the window. We crossed into Mexico what felt like hours ago, but it had been a very long drive and I was not ready for the drive all the way back. I may never be ready for that drive.
    "Well we're already on our way. Is Eden's son there? Hmm...yeah him. Okay, then that's fine we can see him too while we're there. ...Oh...well we'll have to stay the night either way. By the look at my watch the sun will be up by the time we get there and my employer can't really stay out past sunrise...for obvious reasons, of course. Yes, that's perfectly acceptable, any accommodations would be splendid. Thank you." She hung up the phone. "Looks like you'll just have to wing it."
    "What does that mean?"
    Jillian half threw the phone in the cup holder before returning her hand to the wheel. "It means that you may have to get creative."
    I sighed. "I didn't think talking to him would be this hard or I would've done it later."
    We arrived sooner than Jillian had told the woman on the phone. There were servants already waiting at the door with a few guards. My stomach churned with unease. Jillian looked just as uneasy with her fidgeting as she got out of the car and approached them, but her face also told a story of confusion. "What is the meaning of the guards?" She demanded.
    Something didn't sit right with me. The guards looked different from the ones who were patrolling the town within the glamour's walls. The wind picked up, blowing dust in my nose, but I didn't need my nose for the lights to catch the red in their eyes, yet other than that, they looked mostly human. One looked younger, in high school at the very least, the other was bald. "Moroi?" I yelled.
    The two men looked at me.
    "Yes?" I tried not to let my uneasiness show as I walked up to the steps. They didn't answer. What would Matthew do? In all my time I knew anybody answered him right away, but what did he have to do before? "Does that mean Gordon is here?"
    Finally, the bald man answered, "Yes."
    "Then, why did you greet us at the door? I expected to be greeted by servants, not vampires."
    The younger one growled, only to be hushed by the bald man. The bald man answered again, "We overheard the servants saying you would be here and thought that our princess should not be wandering without a guard. What a disgrace to our kind should the Necrarch family fall to these beasts."
    "Thanks, but I assure you, Eden is a friend of Necrarch."
    The bald man was taken aback. "And pray tell, when was this treaty signed?"
    I scoffed, "What do you think I'm here to discuss? Matthew couldn't be here himself since...since some investigations into some...allegations overtook his time." I watched the two men closely. The younger one smirked arrogantly, but even the bald man caught it, and the younger tried to hide it quickly. "So, he sent me here in his stead. I think his words were 'you will have to do this often when you succeed me'." I looked at Jillian and then back at the two and continued, "Besides, I am not alone, so there is no need for me to have a guard, unlike Gordon Moroi. If you would excuse me." I started up the steps first, but they stood in my way. "Did you not hear me?"
    "A queen should enter last." The bald one said through his teeth.
    "Then, it's a good thing I'm not queen yet."
    Jillian rushed forward and stepped through the small gap between me and the bald man. This seemed to satisfy the bald man, but it was little comfort to me to know that my back was exposed.
    I entered after everyone else, and Jillian before me. We followed the procession down the long hall. The two men stopped in front of a door, leaving my back exposed to them. As if reading my thoughts, Jillian dropped behind and stayed close to me. "I don't like this one bit," she murmured.
    I whispered, "I agree." Maybe going along with an engagement wouldn't be a bad idea.
    One of the doors opened, and voices drifted from the room that stopped me halfway up the stairs. "...We're disappointed to hear that, Eden, I know that-"
    I slowly started back down the stairs, my footsteps sounded oddly light, hardly noticeable. The bald man was whispering to a man dressed in a nice business suit. I plastered on a smile and made my way further down, calling out as if seeing an old friend for the first time in years, "Gordon, is that you?"
    Gordon's smile was hard to discern if he had faked it, or if it was genuine. He bowed his head, "Amelia Necrarch, the last time I saw you, you were trying to stop an execution."
    "Yes, I suppose that was the last time anybody saw me." I had forgotten. I had seen Gordon at least twice, but I suppose the second time I had been sneaking around.
    "I hope you did not come here...unaccompanied. My men could always escort you back home."
    Jillian was by my side, as if she had appeared from thin air, and stood still as a statue. "I am with her, Moroi. There is no need for her to be escorted back home so late in the evening."
    Gordon eyed her suspiciously, looking for points of a lie. I quickly asked, "What is it you're here for, Gordon? From what I understood, dragons and the vampire clans didn't often get along."
    His attention was turned to me, but so was Eden's, whose voice nearly caught me off guard. "He was here to propose a few things. He's a bit behind on our alliance to your family. It appears that the other clans are warming up to having dragons as allies now."
    I nodded. "I suppose so. Well, I know it's early for you, Eden, but it is very late for me."
    "Does Matthew know you're here this time? You didn't sneak off, did you?" Eden joked.
    Jillian spoke, "I will be calling Master Matthew soon to inform him of a change in plans."
    "He's expecting us home by sunrise, but I didn't expect you to be so busy already."
    Eden nodded. "Jenny, how about you show miss Amelia the room in the tower. Then, you can show Jillian the servants' quarters."
    Jillian faked a cough, which sounded unnatural, even to Eden, who raised both his eyebrows. "Forgive my rudeness, but I really must stick with Amelia."
    "Don't be absurd, you two are my guests, and under my roof you two shall be well looked after, and you two shall adhere to all of my rules."
    I squeezed Jillian's arm. "It's fine." I whispered. To Eden, I said, "I still remember my way to the tower, Eden. How could I forget my first visit?"
    Eden chuckled. "Very well. Have free range of my home. What is mine is yours today, Amelia." He turned and said to Gordon, "Come, allow me to see you to the door, at least." And he walked out of sight. I walked back up the stairs. "I will see you in the evening, Jillian." I told her with a smile and recounted the way to the tower room. It had been kept mostly the same, save for the curtains, which had been a dark green before, now was a dark purple. Still, it was thick and dark enough to keep out the sunlight, should it want to wander inside.
    I sat on the bed and put my head in my hands, with a heavy sigh. I had no idea what I would even say to Eden in a way that would put all of this gently at ease. "One day you will be queen, empress, whatever they'd like you call you. You will lead and to lead you need a strong voice." Matthew's words bounced in my head, in and out, until I could finally fall asleep.
    When I woke in the early evening hours, I had a rough idea of what I would say to him. The sun was still up when I peeked out in the hall. Its hands, which I hadn't seen for months, touched the bottom and the top of the stairs in an orange glow that was so bright I slammed the door shut. I was forced to wait hours before I could safely roam the mansion.
    Eden was easily found walking up the stairs, dark circles under his eyes and the lines on his face deepened with lack of sleep. "Oh, you're up," he said with a weary smile.
    "Yeah, I'm up. Is this a bad time to talk?"
    "Nonsense. Come." He walked heavily back down the stairs. He led me to the room I had seen him come out of the night before. It was more of a sitting room, with chairs, couches, and a coffee table set up in the middle.
    I took my seat across from him. "You look...tired."
    "Do I?" He folded his hands.
    "I know you have to stay up late for me, so I'll make this short so you can sleep." The sudden finality to my voice, like a command, surprised both of us. I tried  to hide my surprise as I continued. "I know you have been wanting to create a union between our families." I paused for him to nod, a confirmation that I had not heard wrong. "I think...I think it best to hold off on the announcement until a better time."
    Eden's lips took a sharp downturn. "Is that so? Don't you think, after seeing the Moroi clan here last night, that maybe your clans are ready for an alliance?"
    I smiled politely, "You misunderstand. I am simply suggesting that we should hold off on any kind of announcement until a time when there is unity amongst the clans again. You see, we have been having...internal strife. Matthew is doing his best to manage the situation, and although an upcoming party is making things...oddly quiet, I think a sudden engagement announcement will only stir the pot, so to speak. Do you understand?"
    "No, I don't believe I do. It appears to me that you are the only one with an issue. You and Matthew, I should say." He spoke slowly, his frown ever more prominent.
    I sighed. Lead with a strong voice. I tried again, more slowly, "Yes, I suppose there's more to it. Difficulties that Draco and I would have to work through as well, before we announce any form of alliance or engagement. Your kind thrives in the day, but not mine, so this time of quiet will allow both of us to work out something so that both of us can benefit from this type of...relationship."
    "I see." He looked past me, at the wall, his eyes darting quickly as he thought.
    "This isn't negotiable," I forced his attention back to me as I stood. "This is the situation we are in, and these are the terms I am telling you. If you back down now, then this form of alliance with be cut very short."
    His frown turned up, a type of smirk I've never seen anyone have. "Very well, princess, I will agree with a condition." He stood so much taller, towering over me, letting me know that I was out of line in telling him what to do in his own house. "In that month, should anything suddenly...happen, some unexpected event that renders you the queen of vampires, you will be forced to reside within these walls. This part is not negotiable."
    I stared him down, "Is that a threat, Eden?"
    "Of course not. It is merely a hypothetical."
    I nodded wearily. "Then, good night to you. I shall show myself out."
    "I will have dear Jenny show your servant the door, then." He stalked out of the room quickly.
    I waited outside for Jillian. What Eden said unnerved me, and I couldn't wait to be back home.